X-Predator
by Scorpionspear77
Summary: When a trip to the bank goes sour, X-23 takes it on herself to get everyone out of this situation. Can she do it? She's X-23, what do you expect? Read, review, and find out! My first multi-chapter story! Rated T to give myself some room with what I want to do.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Fic 3! This time, I thought I'd do a little action with one of my favorite Marvel characters, X-23. Also, my first multi-chapter story, although it will probably be only 2 or 3 chapters. So here's the setup since I don't think it'd fit in the story itself very well. It takes place in the X-Men Evolution universe. Wolverine convinced X-23 to come to the Institute, and Season 3 is long over. X-23 now has her canon name of Laura, although she still responds to X or X-23. She's a little more outgoing than in the comics (Hey, it's an alternate continuity and she's had some time to adjust. Sue me if she's not exactly like she is in the comics I rarely read, not to mention can't find, even at Comic Con.) and does have a decent friendship with Jean and a more shaky one with Kitty. She also volunteers with the local animal shelter. And this is getting really long, so let's get started!**

"So you're just headed to the bank, and then you'll be headed back, right? Do you need a ride?"

"No thank you, Jean. I can get back on my own."

"Ok, just be careful, Laura."

"I'll be fine."

Hanging up her cell phone, Laura, aka X-23, continued on her path towards the bank. She was just planning on depositing the money from the shelter's last few donations, and then heading home to the Institute. She still couldn't believe how quickly her life had picked up in the months since joining the Institute and the X-Men. It still had some room for improvement (a lot of kids in school were still assholes toward mutants, and even technically having Wolverine as your father didn't get you immunity from that), but it was definitely better than living on the streets.

As she walked into the bank, she remembered something she hated about this- waiting in line. She sighed quietly to herself, wondering exactly how much trouble she'd get in if she cut in line-literally. Just as she was deciding it wasn't worth it, gunshots split the air, and everyone dived for the floor.

"No one move, and no one try anything funny! Anyone tries calling the police or tries to be a hero, then someone dies!" the apparent leader of the group of thugs that had rounded people up into a corner shouted. Half the gang had herded people into little groups spread around the floor of the spacious building, while the other half headed down to begin ransacking the safe. Hidden almost completely in shadow, a skill she had learned during her training with HYDRA, Laura watched this happen. "_None of them would notice me if I climbed up and stayed in the shadows…_" Laura thought to herself. She silently popped her claws and dug them into the wall, climbing high up onto the walls, sticking to the shadows, watching and waiting for the moment to strike. She didn't have to wait long.

**A/N: And so ends Chapter 1! Yes, I do realize it seems a little Batman-ish, but the reason she's not going berserk is because that would just get people, including herself, shot. And now for the teaser: Laura is in quite the pickle here- she has to take these thugs out as quickly and quietly as she can, and keep them from killing anyone. Can she succeed in her self-appointed task, or will these criminals have the last laugh? Find out in the next chapter of X-Predator!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Welcome to Chapter 2 of X-Predator! It's taken a little while, but I did just get my first chance to play Kingdom Hearts II, so I have a decent excuse. But here we go now!**

"_What an idiot" _Laura thought, tracking her target across the bank as she clung to the wall. He had broken off from the others and was walking along the upper level, with no one around. This was almost too easy. She took a second to wonder "_Should I be going for lethal strikes or just knocking them out?"_ She could very easily and remorselessly kill these men, but she'd probably never hear the end of it from Professor Xavier, so she decided on knocking out for now. If she had to tear someone's throat out, she'd do it.

She dropped down behind him, quiet as a cat. Slowly, she crept up behind him, before wrapping her hand around his mouth, pinching his nose shut with her thumb and index finger, and driving her claws into an area of his back that would incapacitate, but not kill him. As the crook stopped struggling, Laura set the unconscious criminal on the ground and quickly made her way back up the wall, this time settling on a gargoyle that gave her an overview of the whole place.

Not long after, one of the criminals walked to the upper level himself- and found his comrade lying there with two deep puncture wounds in his back. "MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN!" he shouted, and the other 3 crooks in the room ran up to group around him.

"C'mon, wake up! Dammit, he's out cold"

"What do we do?"

"We spread out, find the bastard who did this, and we kill 'em! That's what! Now MOVE!"

Laura nearly laughed as she heard this exchange. Spread out? This was going to make it too easy, especially with the dim lighting. Choosing her next target, a man on the ground walking near a set of grates that she could open, she pounced like a mountain lion, landing directly on top of him before punching his lights out with a single blow to the back of the head.

"What the hell?" came the exclamation from across the room. Quickly, Laura leaped beneath the grates and moved away from her latest victim. As she moved, she heard them talking again.

"Who the hell is doing this?"

"Who cares? Keep looking!"

Laura grinned- they were scared, and scared people made mistakes. This was actually turning out to be fun. She crept beneath the grates to the other side of the room, where she noticed another criminal walking over her. Waiting for him to pass, she leaped out of the grate, tackling the guy before taking him out with a knife hand strike to his neck, then slashing his chest for good measure. She turned and ran, melting back into the shadows as the last criminal in the room ran over to find his partner unconscious.

"Oh, man, not you too!" It was a little obvious that this guy was about ready to crap his pants. It was all Laura could do to keep from giggling at the priceless look on his face. "S-show yourself, coward!" he shouted out.

"Gladly" came the reply from seemingly nowhere. The criminal whirled wildly around the room before he heard another reply. "Up here, moron." He looked up and screamed in terror. He pointed his gun up a little too late. The last thing he saw and heard before blacking out was Laura letting out a feral snarl and her claws flashing.

Laura dusted her hands off, having slashed the last guy's gun into bits instead of his face, and the sight of her must have caused him to black out in fear. Obviously not the most hardened criminal. "_Better safe than sorry" _Laura thought, before punching the guy in the face just to make sure he was unconscious. She turned to a teller who had been hiding behind her desk. "Call the police if you haven't already."

"Right. Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. I still need to take care of the guys downstairs…" Laura turned dashed down the stairs about halfway, before jumping up and using her claws to dig into the stairway ceiling. She had four more of these mooks to take care of, and she was going to enjoy it.

**A/N: And so ends Chapter 2! What did you think? Chapter 3 will have Laura take out the guys in the vault room, though whether it'll be another stealth attack like that or a more direct fight will depend on what I feel like. Tell me how you'd like to see the vault fight go in a review (Although make sure it's not the only thing you comment on, please) and it may influence my decision! Also, I did indeed borrow a lot of elements from the Batman: Arkham series of video games, but I thought it fit well with Laura's assassin training. (Seriously, if Batman didn't have his One Rule and was a mercenary, he'd be a better assassin than Deathstroke) Also, the knife hand strike is just a fancy name for a karate chop, for those who don't know. I'll see you all in the conclusion in Chapter 3!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Welcome to X-Predator Chapter 3! Sorry it's been a while, but college takes priority, after all. Enjoy!**

Laura crept along the ceiling into the vault, hanging from it like a spider. She scanned the room below her. 4 thugs, none with firearms, but some did have knives. She then noticed they did have firearms, just none were carrying them right now. The group's guns were lying off to the side of the room. "_This is going to be too easy" _she thought.

"What do you think all the commotion was upstairs?"

"Probably just someone trying to play hero. The others have probably already taken care of it. Now keep loading! We've gotta hurry before the police get here!"

"Evening, gentlemen." Came Laura's voice from seemingly out of nowhere. The thugs whirled, and she dropped from the ceiling, landing in the doorway. "If you want out, you're going to have to go through me, and let me tell you, you won't be in one piece if you try. I took your friends upstairs out. Unless you want the same fate, surrender. Now" She growled.

One of the thugs just laughed. "There's four of us and one of you! You really think a scrawny little thing like you can beat all of us?" The other thugs gathered around him, expressing agreement and entering fighting stances.

"Size and numbers aren't everything." Laura launched forward, dodging the first guy's punch and sweep kicking him off his feet. Another one came at her, but she leaped over him and kicked him as hard as she could in the back, sending him stumbling forward and into another one of his teammates. The last one ran at her, but she caught his punch and threw him over her shoulder into the steel vault door, knocking him out. The other 3 were getting to their feet, and they came at her again. She leaped over their attacks, causing them to hit each other. Suppressing a giggle at their expressions, she let herself drop directly on top of one of them, knocking him to the ground. She then stomped on his back, knocking him out.

"Two down, two to go" Laura said, turning to her final two assailants. They ran at her, knives drawn. She dodged their slashes and back flipped away and struck her usual fighting stance. "Enough playing around" she snarled.

_Snikt. Snikt._

Laura's claws extended from her hands, and she let out a catlike hiss. The thieves' eyes widened in fear as they realized just what they were dealing with. "She's a freakin' mutant, man! What do we do?"

"We kill her! Mutant don't mean invincible!"

"Maybe not, but I've got more than just these claws, buddy. I've got more than enough to take you out" Laura said. The thugs circled her, knives extended. There was a pause, and one of the thugs lunged at her. She trapped his knife in her claws, and disarmed him with a flick of her wrist. She then kicked out at him, using her foot claws to cut a large diagonal gash in his chest. She then leaped at the reeling criminal, kneeing him in the face and knocking him out. She rounded on the last thug, striking her fighting stance.

The two combatants stared each other down, circling one another, before Laura leaped at him. He slashed at her, cutting her arm, but she ignored it. She blocked his next strike and held him there, letting her healing factor kick in and fix her cut. She then swept his legs out from underneath him and kicked him away- right into the guns pile. He stood, holding one of them. Laura dashed forward, zigzagging from side to side to dodge his fire. She leaped up and knocked the gun from his hands, but not before getting a bullet in the leg. She grunted in pain as she tackled the guy, landing on top of him. She began punching him repeatedly in the face, before leaving an X-shaped gash on his chest. She then raised her clawed fist, raising it above his head, aiming her claws directly above his eyes. She then plunged them down- and stopped an inch away. She then pulled her claws in and punched him one more time, knocking him out. As she stood up, her healing factor having already fixed her leg, she heard sirens outside.

Back at the Institute, Laura finished telling the others about what had happened. On the news, the robbery was being covered. Professor Xavier folded his hands before finally speaking up. "I am glad you did not kill any of them, Laura, but you did put yourself and others in unnecessary danger. Still, I understand why you did this, and I am proud of you for stopping them. Good work." Laura smiled as the other began to congratulate her on a job well done. Logan looked at her proudly, and she remembered why she'd come to the Institute in the first place: the feeling of being able to fit in with others like her, and to maybe have a chance at a family. She'd definitely gotten that here.

**A/N: Well, that's my first multi-chapter story done, and my first real action scene too. I'm a little unsure about the ending, and if I think of a way to improve it, I will. Tell me how I did, and I'll probably be doing another one-shot next. I've had a simple Metroid-based idea sitting around in my head for a while now, and that's probably where I'm going next. I'll see you wherever my next story takes us! See you next time! Scorpion out.**


End file.
